by Katie Reus
He half-smiled, the way his lips quirked up making him seem almost boyish and her knees weakened again. “Next time?”
Wrapping her arms around his waist, she moved closer and lifted up on her toes. “Oh, yeah.” There was definitely going to be a next time. Lots of them, and very soon, if she had anything to say about it.
Chapter 12
Where the hell was she? He slammed his hand against his steering wheel then flinched at the blast of the horn. His palm stung from the impact but he welcomed the pain.
It had been four fucking days. Four. Days. Julieta hadn’t been into work or to her home. Not that he’d seen and he’d been by her shop enough times to know. She must be with that blond man. The one he’d seen her with last Saturday.
She was probably fucking him. Stupid whore. She belonged to him and no one else. She thought she could disappear on him? He refused to let her hide.
His hands shook as he turned down the street to her shop. It was Friday and she always worked Fridays. Of course she usually worked every damn day. She’d been so predictable, her actions like clockwork. Until now.
It was why he’d been patient to wait, to take his time building up to when he’d finally kidnap her. Now…he needed to see her. After that last text he’d sent showing her how much she affected him, he hadn’t sent anymore.
He’d been determined to show some control, to prove to himself that he had restraint. Even if she pushed at his. Women always thought they were smarter than him. Just like his stupid mom, always telling his dad what to do, beating the man down until he had no opinion of his own. And now she wanted him to go to therapy. As if he fucking needed it.
He wasn’t going to waste time sitting on some couch talking to an overeducated asshole who looked down on him, thought they were better than him. No way in hell. Besides, what he needed was Julieta, screaming for him as he cut her, fucked her, and killed her.
He was definitely going to keep her alive for days now, make her beg for death. She didn’t get to hide from him. His heart jumped in his throat as he spotted her car a few parking spots down from the outside of her store. He couldn’t stop the erratic thump in his chest as he cruised by her store, sticking to the speed limit.
She was inside. Finally.
For a moment, it was as if everything around him faded away as he watched her talking to that blonde slut who worked with her. Julieta smiled as she arranged something in the window. She didn’t look afraid, like she’d been up worrying about what text he’d send next or where he’d strike; her house or store.
For days he’d imagined her losing sleep as she fought fear of the unknown. Of him. Of what he’d do next. He’d stroked himself off countless times as he fantasized about her living in terror.
But she was practically glowing, like she didn’t have a care in the world. Rage detonated inside him, making his entire body shake.
He forced his gaze straight ahead, his vision going hazy for a moment as the anger inside him bubbled higher and higher.
He knew what he had to do. She was going to find out there was nothing he wouldn’t do to have her. It didn’t matter that she was behind the glass windows and doors of her store. She wasn’t safe, even surrounded by people.
He was going to show her exactly how powerful he was. What kind of man he was.
And then he’d take her life.
* * *
Julieta’s gaze turned toward the front of her store as the bell over the door jingled. For a moment she thought they had more customers but it was just the two women who’d been shopping finally leaving. They’d been browsing the past hour and had bought a ton of merchandise, which normally made her happy.
She just wanted today to be over. Which was probably a little ungrateful of her, but she was mentally exhausted. She felt like she was constantly looking over her shoulder and expecting her stalker to jump out of the shadows.
For four days she’d been hibernating at Ivan’s but she’d finally had enough this morning. Ivan hadn’t wanted her to leave at all; he’d been fine with her cooped up under his roof. If she was honest, when she hadn’t been focused on the reason she was hiding out, it had been a lot of fun just hanging out with Ivan. They’d been intimate and she’d slept in his bed every night with him holding her—though he was still keeping her at arm’s length as far as sex went. He had way more patience than her. They’d also cooked together, watched movies, and thankfully he was like her and didn’t mind the quiet so when she’d wanted to read, he’d read too.
She came from a huge family so having actual quiet time to read or just check her email was a miracle. Because living by herself didn’t mean she had privacy. One of her brothers, cousins, parents or aunts was always stopping by. Something she loved. But still, a little privacy would be nice.
Over the past four days she’d gotten to know Ivan a lot more too. He’d been in the Army for eight years before working for Mina’s father and it was clear that Ivan had really cared for the man. He’d lost his own mother during childbirth then his father to cancer. Now he was basically alone. Well, not alone. He had a lot of friends from the Army and in his current job, but she’d heard the longing in his voice more than once when he told her how lucky she was to have such a supportive family. And she was, of that she had no doubt.
Now that she’d come to her store she was starting to feel somewhat normal again. Not safe exactly, because she wasn’t stupid. Just because her stalker had been quiet the past few days didn’t mean anything. There were any number of reasons he could have stopped bothering her, but she knew he hadn’t just forgotten about her. No, he was still out there. Somewhere. Damn it, if she just knew what he looked like, it would ease some of her tension.
Everywhere she looked she wondered if her stalker was nearby, watching, waiting. As she hung up a silky, purple robe someone had left in the dressing room, she mentally shook herself.
“You look deep in thought,” Ivan said, his voice making her jump a little.
She turned from the rack she’d just hung the robe on and smiled at him. He’d been with her all day as she’d made the rounds to her family’s restaurants and then her shop. She’d been determined to get out and stop living in fear. It amazed her that she wasn’t sick of Ivan and that he wasn’t tired of her. If anything, she wanted to spend more time with him. “Just thinking of you and…later tonight.” Because after four days of sharing the same bed with him and no sex, and she was about to crawl out of her skin. She needed a deeper physical connection. She felt like she’d been waiting for Ivan for years.
“Do not rub it in that you’re getting some and I’m alone,” Ruby said as she emerged from the storeroom, carrying a dozen of the ‘sexy policewoman’ costumes that had arrived today.
Ivan didn’t say anything, but his lips quirked up as he gave Julieta a quick kiss on the mouth before retreating to her office. The store’s security setup was in there, with cameras showing the outside and inside of the store at various angles. She knew he was uber-concerned with keeping an eye on everything today—and so was she—but she also figured that he wasn’t used to Ruby’s brand of, well, everything.
Ruby grinned. “Didn’t mean to scare him off.”
“Liar. You like scaring men.” Julieta rolled her eyes as she headed for one of the display cases. She’d tucked a file Ivan had given her on the shelf under the cash register. Since it was quiet and almost closing time, she wanted to look at it one more time. Even if she knew it would just frustrate her.
“Anything special you want me to do before closing?” Ruby asked as she made room for the new arrivals.
“Not today. Just make sure the display case at the front is wiped down and run the end of day reports. I think I’ll close up in fifteen minutes if no one else comes in.” Normally she ran the reports, but this past week Ruby had really stepped up and Julieta realized she needed to start delegating more duties if she ever wanted to take a real vacation or just have a life. She loved her job but it was incredibly nice to b
e able to depend on someone else.
She opened the file on the glass top and started scanning the names and addresses from the neighborhoods surrounding where that freak had dumped the last phone he’d used to text her. It was probably pointless since she’d read over the thing dozens of times and didn’t recognize any of the names, but she wanted to be doing something. As she started scanning it, her cell buzzed in the nearly seamless pocket of her fifties style black and red dress that flared out from her waist. She’d worn it today because Ivan liked her cherry red heels and they matched the dress.
Her fingers grazed the pepper spray she’d tucked in there as she pulled her phone out. Without looking at the screen she knew it was her mom because of the ringtone.
“Hey, Mama.”
“Mi linda, how are you feeling? Everything okay?”
She smiled at her mom’s concern, grateful she had such a good mother. “I’m good, I promise. Ivan is here with me and we’ll probably be closing up shop soon anyway.”
“Why don’t you two and Ruby come down to the restaurant after you close? I’ve already got a table saved for you.” Oh yeah, her mama wasn’t asking.
If she’d saved a table, this was more or less a demand. “Ivan and I will be there but I’m not sure about Ruby.”
Her mom made a soft tsking sound. “Tell Ruby that Montez will be here. He’s stopping by too. She’ll come.”
Montez? “Do you mean Sandro?”
“No, I know the difference between my sons. You just tell her and see if she doesn’t come.” Her mom had that knowing tone of voice that made Julieta’s eyebrows shoot up.
Her oldest brother had been scarred badly in Afghanistan and as far as Julieta knew he didn’t date anymore. And she also didn’t think Ruby had ever met her oldest brother. Her mom must be confused. But she knew better than to argue with her. “Okay, I’ll tell her.”
“Good. Listen, this is probably me being a paranoid mother, but I got a call from the unemployment department today. They contact employers regarding former employees who file for… Well, that’s not important. The call made me think of something. Do you remember Buck Howell?”
“No.” But the name sounded vaguely familiar. She glanced down at the file in front of her, moving out of the way as Ruby stepped up behind her to start running the reports.
“Well, he’s a server we had who was incredibly inept. He’s the one who spilled that hot coffee all over you.”
“Oh right, the creepy one.” She’d never known his name, he hadn’t even been at her parents’ restaurant long.
“It’s probably nothing, but we fired him after that incident. We waited until closing and it wasn’t because of the coffee incident, it was because he was a terrible employee, always late, forgetting to put in orders, and breaking stuff when he was here. He was really quiet, almost too quiet, after your father and I let him go. He just stared at us before taking his tips and leaving. I hadn’t even thought about him, but I was just out on the patio delivering bread and saw him drive by our restaurant twice. He’s headed back down to your side of the block. It…could be nothing, but I wanted to tell you.” Her mom’s voice shook slightly, telling Julieta that the man must have really bothered her when they let him go because it took a lot to rattle her mother.
“Hold on…” She moved the phone away from her mouth and turned to Ruby. “Will you lock the door and turn the sign to closed?”
Ruby nodded and as she headed for the front, Julieta adjusted the phone. “Thanks for telling me, Mama. I’m closing now and I’ll give the name to Lizzy and Ivan.”
“When you talk to Lizzy, tell that girl she better bring little Maddox in to see me next week or I’ll be calling her mother.”
Smiling, she shook her head. Lizzy’s new baby was adorable. “I will. And we’ll be down to see you soon.”
After they disconnected, Julieta couldn’t get rid of the nagging sensation in her gut. She knew the name Howell from somewhere. Looking over the file, ice filled her veins as she turned the page. A Leora and Glenn Howell owned a house not far from where the phone had been dumped. A middle-class neighborhood, one of the older ones in Miami so it was established. No Buck Howell though. Still… She picked up the file and rounded the counter. She wanted to show it to Ivan. Maybe Lizzy could find out if Buck Howell was related to them.
Before she’d taken two steps an explosion of glass and metal rent the air. Ruby screamed, the fear behind it raking over Julieta’s skin. A car surged through one of her front windows, destroying everything in its path.
It swerved in her direction, sending racks of clothes and jewelry flying as it flew straight at her. There was nowhere to go. Her heart jumped in her throat and she dropped the file. She dove over the display, trying to find cover. A mannequin head rolled along the floor as an engine roared loudly.
Her mind whirled as she curled into a ball beneath the display. Ivan, Ruby, she needed to check on them. The engine still rumbled ominously, but it was idling. She heard a door open and glass crunching as she pushed to her feet.
“Julieta!” Ivan shouted from somewhere to her left. She hoped he wasn’t trapped in the security room.
“I’m okay! Ruby, are you all right?” Shaking, she grasped the edge of the display counter and finished getting to her feet. This was too surreal.
As she cleared the counter to stand, all the air rushed from her lungs in a whoosh. The man her mom had been worried about was pointing a gun directly at her, his green eyes wild with rage. He was so close, if he pulled the trigger she’d die in seconds.
“You think you can hide from me?” he snarled.
She just stared at the barrel of the gun, frozen in terror. This maniac had crashed through her store for…what? He couldn’t think he was getting away which meant he wanted to kill her. She started to shake, a lead ball forming in her stomach. Oh God, why hadn’t Ruby answered? Had she been hit by his car? Where was Ivan? Was he okay?
“Answer me!” he screamed, his question jerking her out of her haze.
Her gaze snapped up to his. “I’m not hiding.” The words were out before she could think about censoring herself or trying to come up with a good answer. Not that she thought there was actually a good answer for a situation like this. Not when she was staring into the eyes of a man who wanted to kill her.
Moving incredibly fast, he stepped around the counter in two fluid steps and grabbed her by the arm. He shoved the gun into her ribs as he pulled her close. “Damn right you’re not hiding. You’re mine.” His eyes seemed to almost darken as his fingers dug painfully into her upper arm.
She didn’t even flinch as a strange numbness invaded her body. She was beyond terrified, but everything around her seemed too surreal, as if she was watching this happen to someone else. Because this couldn’t be happening to her. It just couldn’t.
He yanked her to the right, around the counter but suddenly jerked to a halt, pulling her in front of him so that her back pressed against his chest. As a shield, she belatedly realized.
At the same time that registered, she saw Ivan standing near one of the pillars that had been saved from this monster’s destructive rampage. He had a gun in his hand, pointed in their direction.
“Drop your weapon.” His words were quiet as he stared at Buck, but there was a deadly edge to them.
His calmness helped bring her out of her haze. She had the vague thought that she must be going into shock, or maybe she was already in shock. But did people in shock even realize they were in it?
“Julieta, you’re going to be okay.” Ivan’s deep voice punched further through the haze as the man behind her shoved the barrel of the weapon against her head.
She swallowed back the bile in her throat and tried to focus on Ivan.
“Get back or I shoot her right here, right now,” the man shouted again even though Ivan was only ten or so feet away from them.
Without the barrier of the counter nothing was in between them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movem
ent to her left. Ruby. It looked like she was laying on the ground underneath a pile of clothes. If she’d been hit by his car she needed help. Panic suffused her, a jag of adrenaline making her hyperaware of her surroundings.
“You haven’t done anything you can’t undo right now. There’s still time to walk away from this.” Ivan’s voice was so damn calm. How was he so calm?
She wasn’t shaking, but she felt as if her insides were. Her heart raced out of control, the beat erratic as blood rushed in her ears. As if she’d split apart from the sheer terror forking through her. She was so damn helpless with no weapons…
Her pepper spray. Ivan had been so insistent she carry it with her everywhere.
“Fuck you! This bitch is coming with me and you’re going to get out of my way right fucking now!”
Julieta carefully slid her hand into her pocket, her fingers grasping the small weapon tightly. She had no clue how she was moving so smoothly, maybe it was because her whole damn body was so numb.
“All right, I’m moving back.” Ivan stepped from the pillar to a fallen rack of corsets. He didn’t actually go backward though, more like shifted to the side. It gave Buck a better view of his car though. Maybe it made him feel more in control.
She was vaguely aware of people gathering outside the shop and murmurs of panic, probably because they’d seen the maniac with a gun. It was only a matter of time before the police showed up, before sirens blared in the distance. Deep down Julieta knew it would set this guy off. He was clearly walking a razor’s edge. She pulled the pepper spray from her pocket and slid the safety to the side, thankful Ivan had made her practice holding it to get used to the feel of it. She didn’t have to look at it to know how to operate it.
